The Promise of Summer by Bella Osborne
ABOUT THE BOOK
Ruby’s life is about to change for ever…
After years of dating losers, cheats and one guy who did something unrepeatable to her kettle, Ruby has all but given up on romance. But then a stranger sits next to her on a train to London and explains his plan to propose to the woman of his dreams. Maybe true love does exist after all?
When the man accidentally leaves the engagement ring behind, Ruby is determined to save the day. But she hasn’t counted on fellow passenger Curtis stepping in and insisting he should be the one to track the stranger down.
As summer closes in, the unlikely pair make a promise to reunite the ring with its owner. But can they find their own happy ever after along the way?
MY REVIEW
I picked up this book because I love British rom-coms and Ms. Osborne certainly knows how to write believable, quirky characters whom I loved instantly.
Ruby’s loneliness manifests in her wanting a baby and the men she has met are unreliable to say the least, so she resorts to meeting up with a shady sperm donor in London. On the train she runs into Curtis, a handsome, uptight, unemotional technical consultant who thankfully talks her out of the sperm donor fiasco in the nick of time. And if that isn’t enough they embark on a mission to track down the mysterious Lewis, a guy who borrowed Ruby’s phone on the train and left an engagement ring behind. As Curtis and Ruby become closer and she proceeds to teach Curtis how to better interact with people, especially a woman Curtis wants to pursue, Ruby realizes her feelings have changed toward him, but she may have left it too late.
Kim is happy with her flower shop and her only employee and friend, Ruby. However, she’s not happy with her personal life and decides to adopt a dog. Little did she know she would find a fellow dog lover in her best customer, Adrian, who has been buying flowers for his dead wife’s grave for two years. As their relationship gets sweeter, people interfere and they go their separate ways. But fate has some things in store that Kim didn’t see coming.
I love that I get two stories for the price of one in this book. I was invested in both Ruby’s and Kim’s happiness as they made mistakes, hit roadblocks, and supported each other at their lowest. Ruby’s quirky friendliness and Kim’s incredible kindness and outspokenness are such a treat. I would be proud to call them both my friends. There were several hilarious moments with Kim’s accidentally shedding too many layers at the cinema (darned menopause), and pretty much every conversation Ruby has with Curtis who takes some time catching on to Ruby’s sarcasm. As for Curtis and Adrian, they are both a bit clueless in figuring out how wonderful their women are, but they eventually come around leaving me with double the pleasure of happily ever after. Also, it would also be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the lovely and excitable Boomerang (Boomer), Kim’s adopted dog. He gives a new meaning to race walking.
If you enjoy captivating, endearing, and imperfect characters who will make you laugh, cry and cheer on as they make their way through life’s challenges, please give this book a try.
Thank you to Ms. Osborne for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. Since then she’s written seven best selling romantic comedies and she’s been shortlisted three times for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award.
Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She lives in The Midlands, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.
For more about Bella, visit her website at http://www.bellaosborne.com or follow her on social media.
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